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December 12, 2018

Articles

Junior School

As always, it’s been a busy fortnight at Ormiston with many events taking place including excursions and sports carnivals.

Foundation Excursion – Healesville SanctuaryLast Wednesday 16 May, the Foundation students visited Healesville Sanctuary. This term they have been investigating Australian animals and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to get up close and personal with the animals they have chosen to investigate. We discussed what special features, body coverings and habitats the animals have to help them survive in the wild. The following are some reflective comments made by some Foundation students:

Erica: I learnt about how big a red belly black snake is, when I visited the reptile enclosure.

Cynthia: Sugar gliders are a kind of possum and they come out at night and I saw one in the Animals of the Night exhibition.

Audrey & Molly: We enjoyed dancing with the emu, on the other side of the fence, where it was safe!

Irene: I enjoyed looking at a baby kangaroo in a jar. It didn’t have any fur, it had pink skin.

Maddie: I enjoyed going into the bird enclosure but we didn’t see any lyrebirds. They are really good at hiding. They are the same colour as the ground which is called camouflaged, so the predators don’t eat them.

Heather Scarff – Foundation Class Teacher

Year 3 – Excursion to the Royal Botanic Gardens

This week Year 3 visited the Royal Botanic Gardens and took part in the interactive Connecting to Country education program. This learning experience helped foster the students’ curiosity and understanding of indigenous culture and the people of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri nations. The students actively participated in a number of hands on activities including making and using ochre paint to create their own art work and making string from raffia. They also participated in a traditional smoking (or welcoming) ceremony, discovered traditionally used plants and explored the use of traditional Aboriginal tools.

Although the day was overcast, the students embraced the outdoor activities and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Some thoughts from Year 3 students about the day:

Emily: I felt curious because they had different foods, materials and tools that I never thought they would eat or use. My favourite activity was making the string, as I found it hard and the Aboriginal people would have had to make lots. That would have been a tough job.

Elise: I thought the day was really fun because I never knew that the Aboriginal people had to use everything around them, such the red river gum, the banksia and spiny mat rush. I loved looking at nature’s “shopping isle” and making string.

Chloe: I like how we learnt how the Aboriginal people painted and learned some symbols that they used to create their paintings.

Angela Columbine Year 3 Class Teacher

Year 6 Excursion – Shrine of Remembrance

As part of the Year 6 inquiry unit, the students have been considering answers to the question ‘How Did Australia Become a Nation?’ On Monday 14 May, the students went on an excursion to the Shrine of Remembrance. Amelia Graham and Xixi Yang reflected about their experiences there.

We thought the Shrine was really informative. There were so many symbols representing deeper meanings. There was so much detail that we would’ve missed if we hadn’t looked close enough. They had lots of old artefacts that were from the war. It was almost as if we were standing in the battlefields watching, especially during the video we watched.

We thought that World War 1 linked a lot to Australia becoming a nation in 1901. The Anzacs from Australia weren’t just fighting for Britain, or the state they came from. They were fighting for their country- Australia. They volunteered. We learnt that even at the age of fourteen people felt very passionate about Australia and wanted to fight for their country.

There were lots of symbols that represented things we never would of thought of. Everything was there for a reason- it was very deliberate. There were plants, statues and monuments representing not just the men who fought, but the women, and even the animals who helped them survive and protect our country.

We appreciate the Australians who fought to protect us, and we learnt just how important it is that we never forget them.

Lest we forget.

~ Ameila Graham and Xixi Yang Year 6 students

Year 1 and 2 Excursion – Werribee Mansion

Last Friday, the Years 1 and 2 students travelled to Werribee to ‘step back in time’ and experience life in the late 1800s. They were VIP guests, entering through the front door of the historic mansion, and toured the rooms displaying examples of the life of the Chirnside family, the original owners of the property. After experiencing life as a wealthy land-owner, the students then imaged life as a laundry maid and servant to the family. They enjoyed exploring ‘behind the scenes’ of the mansion, and came to appreciate the differences between life back then, and today. Highlights from the day included operating original laundry tools, playing in the children’s nursery, exploring the lake’s hidden grotto, and visiting the historic farmhouse and vegetable garden.

~ Miranda Jackson Year 1 Class Teacher

Early Learning 3 – Year 6 Ormiston Wellbeing Program

In Term 2, students have been continuing to be B.R.A.V.E. – Building Resilience And Valuing Everyone. In addition to our classroom programs, our Year 6 leaders have been creating well beings in our community through a range of initiatives.

An important aspect of well-being is eating well. This term the Sustainability Leaders have been working closely with Katrina Cheong to raise awareness about personal, social and community health. Through an event entitled ‘Lettuce Celerybrate!’ students have been learning to group food into categories, such as vegetables and fruits.

The Sustainability Squad plays an important role in our School community as they create, and communicate, activities around the school that promote positive health messages.

At CGGS we want our students to flourish. Alongside healthy eating habits, another vital component of well-being is physical activity. Our House Leaders, Mrs Ruffles and Mr Donohue were eager to conduct their T-Day activities, which began yesterday. Your child will have the opportunity on a Tuesday and a Thursday to get involved in a wide variety of activities – the photos are only a snapshot!

The T-Day program complements our B.R.A.V.E. program as students will have opportunities to connect with others, as well as to be active. These games and experiential play will facilitate critical life skills for students, such as problem-solving, teamwork, creativity, communication, critical thinking and persistence in different experiences.

The development of our well-being program at Ormiston would not be possible without our young leaders and the support offered by our staff. I would like to thank them for their efforts in creating a culture of healthy eating and physical activity this semester.

Have a lovely weekend and please, feel free to ask me any questions about our B.R.A.V.E. program throughout the year.

~ Craig Goodwin – Deputy Head of Junior School (Student Wellbeing)

Year 6 Virtual Debating

Four students in Year 6 are currently participating in the 2018 ISDCN National Virtual Debating Competition. This exciting opportunity is facilitated by video conferencing and allows students to take part in a formal debating competition against student teams from across the country. At CGGS we are very lucky to have been able to utilise the Green Room studio at the Senior Campus to conduct these debates.

So far this year our team, Isabel Betts, Sienna Catalogna, Sienna Lonetti and Sofia Sanfilippo have debated on the following topics:

‘All Zoos Should Be Banned’ and ‘Voting Should Not Be Compulsory’. In both cases they have debated on the negative side.

The students are only given one week to prepare for debates. They work collaboratively to thoroughly research the topic, write their speeches and consider possible rebuttals against the opposing team. Within their argument, they are working hard to ensure analyse and justify their reasoning to convince the adjudicator of their point of view.

During both debates the girls have demonstrated composure and exceptional public speaking skills. Throughout the debate they continue to consider their argument and adapt it according to the response of the opposition.

To date, the Year 6 Virtual debating team has won both debates and received excellent feedback on the high quality of their argument and delivery.

We are looking forward to further debates in the coming weeks and congratulate the students on their success so far.

It’s a really good experience and it is giving us an opportunity to prepare for debates at Senior School. The Green Room looks like a real TV studio and we look really official on the screen. – Sienna

It feels special to use the Green Room. It’s interesting to have the opportunity to debate against schools from around Australia. It means that you don’t know what to expect, so you have to be really prepared. – Isabel

~ Nancy Robottom Year 6 Class Teacher

Foundation – Year 6 Ormiston Spirit Awards

At this week’s Assembly, we were able to recognise the efforts of our students from the start of the year. The Ormiston Spirit Award reflects students that have shown a Growth Mindset in all of their class learning and co-curricular activities, and who are willing to take risks, learn from their mistakes and demonstrate the School values of Respect, Commitment, Integrity, Hope and Courage in all that they do.

Each Foundation – Year 6 student that receives this award was given a certificate as well as a distinctive Ormiston Spirit Award badge. This badge is proudly worn by the student throughout the semester. Only one student from each class and one student from a specialist subject are selected by staff for this prestigious school award each semester.

Here are the recipients of the Ormiston Spirit Award for Semester One:

Specialists

Art: Isabel Betts, Year 6

Physical Education: Ivy Xie, Foundation

Music: Georgia Langley, Year 6

Library: Aaayzah Khan, Year 4

Chinese: Isabella Madden, Year 4

French: Jessie Chen, Year 5

Classrooms

Foundation C: Molly Iervasi

Foundation S: Estella Ouyang

Year 1C: Joyce Zhang

Year 1J: Ava Pao

Year 2R: Jessica Wong

Year 2B: Madeline Mason

Year 3C: Elise Orme

Year 3L: Aekam Gill

Year 4H: Leah Lekakis

Year 4K: Anneka Sinnappu

Year 5D: Julia Klages

Year 5R: Mia Chapman

Year 6G: Sofia Sanfilippo

Year 6R: Sienna Catalogna

Year 4 – 6 District Cross Country

Last Friday, 29 students represented CGGS at the local North Balwyn District Cross Country event. Overall, our team came in ninth of fourteen schools. Congratulations to the following competitors.

This year our results were very pleasing and five students qualified to compete at the next level at Division. This is a record for Ormiston and we congratulate Anika Selvaratnam (Year 4), Sarah Zhou (Year 5), Ellie Cowell (Year 5), Sofia Sanfilippo (Year 6) and Emily Price (Year 6) for qualifying at the higher level. We wish them all the best.

Year 3 – 6 House Athletics Carnival

On Monday, our Years 3 – 6 students participated in our annual House Athletics Carnival. Each student participated in a variety of events and for the first time, all students competed in the 100m sprint. I would like to thank our Junior School Physical Education teachers Claire Macbeth, Nareen Robinson and Dot Georgiou for organising the day and all of the track and field events. Here are the final house scores for the day:

Lawrence 605 points

Taylor 455 points

Schofield 424 points

Singleton 372 points

Congratulations to Lawrence House for winning the carnival this year. The results of each event will help with the selection of our Junior School District Athletics Team which will be announced in the near future.